Chapter 9
Tsunade balanced the tray of food she had in one hand to pull open the door, finding her patient up. Obito’s hands gripped the window sill, leaning out just a bit from the open window. Enough to stare up at the sky. His head was tilted just a smidge, almost unnoticeably.
She realized he was feeling the warmth of the sun. Letting it wash over his face. He hadn’t noticed her enter, and she makes her way over to the bed, placing the tray on the small table.
“You should be laying down, young man.”
Her voice causes him to start, wheeling around to face her, giving an– admittedly weak– glare. He still looked pretty tired, honestly, though she couldn’t say she was surprised. Honestly, she was more surprised he was moving around.
Obito always had the most energy out of any of Minato’s students.
Tsunade adjusts the bed so that he could at least sit up and still rest. She gestures at him to lay down, and while he makes a face at her, he knows better than to not do as she says, especially in the state he’s in. Fighting Minato was one thing— fighting an angry Tsunade was another entirely. As he readjusts, he notices the tray she had brought with her, and he scrunches up his nose.
Until he realizes that it was just plain miso soup and a cup of tea. He blinks at it for a moment, before he remembers he’s still not sitting back, and finishes getting settled. Tsunade waves at the lunch before taking the tray and placing it on Obito’s lap.
“I thought about bringing you some rice, too, as something a little more filling, but when the condition you’re in? You’re probably not going to be able to stomach it.”
Obito shook his head. He wasn’t sure how well he was going to stomach what she had brought. But he knew he needed to have something, and he was hungry. He carefully takes the bowl, blowing on it a bit to cool it down before taking a sip. He has to take a moment to make sure it stays down, but he’s soon taking it without any troubles. Tsunami gives a satisfied nod, taking the clipboard hanging from the bed frame and making a note on it.
“If you think you can stand I also need some measurements, but those can wait, if need be. Mainly, we need to focus on getting you food and rest.”
“Why are you doing this….?” Obito can’t help but flinch at how scratchy his voice is.
“Minato asked me to. And you know how he would get if I’d tell him no.”
“Pouty.”
“Exactly.” Tsunade nods. “And then I feel bad, and it’s easier to just skip the song and dance, and get right to the end result.”
“But—-“ He chews on his lip a moment, and Tsunade raises an eyebrow at him.
And that’s when he realizes she doesn’t know. She doesn’t know that he’s the one who attacked Konoha. The one that released Kyuubi. The one that killed——-
He sighs quietly before shaking his head, looking at the bowl still in his hands. He places it back on the tray, and Tsunade asks him if he’s done, to which he nods after a moment. He was able to eat most of the soup, and a bit of the tea, but his stomach already felt a bit queasy, even with just that. She nods and takes the tray back, and there’s silence between them, though she breaks it soon enough.
“Minato’s real worried about you, you know.” He gives something between a groan and a sigh. “He told me he fully intends to find out what happened. Because I can tell by lookin’ at you, something definitely happened.” He doesn’t say anything, simply staring out the window, and Tsunade sighs quietly.
She could tell he wasn’t going to say anything, especially not to her, though, she couldn’t fault him. She could admit that she had never been close to any of Minato’s students, and if going off the look of the kid, whatever had happened to him hadn’t been pleasant.
“Listen, kid—-“
“I’m not a kid.”
“You’re like, what, 13?”
“Old enough to die in a war.”
Tsunade looks away, unsure of what to say. She couldn’t think he was wrong, per se. It was the life of a shinobi, though she felt it shouldn’t have to be for one so young. She wonders for a moment if he knows of Rin, but considering he hadn’t asked about her— and though she didn’t know the kid well, she felt that would’ve been the first thing he asked— she figured he did in fact know.
They were both so young.
All three of them were.
“I’ve already told Minato you are not to have visitors until I give the okay. And the only medic to know you are here is me. I will check on you every couple of hours probably, to make sure you eat and sleep.” There’s no response, and Tsunade gives a huff. If he was in any better condition she’d noogie him.
“I’m not going to tell him anything. It doesn’t matter anyways.” She only shrugs.
“You can take that up with him.”